The present invention relates generally to a method for unclosing and enclosing the flaps of a package carton during an automatic packing process and the apparatus therefor, and particularly to an apparatus for unclosing and enclosing the flaps of a package carton whose opening is disposed downward during an automatic packing process, so articles can be stowed into the package carton through the opening of the package carton.
It is known that materials packed in poly bags or rigid packages can be stowed into cardboard boxes or cartons by disposing the openings of the cardboard boxes or cartons downward and pushing upward bags or packages, which are piled in lots, from under the openings into the cardboard boxes or the cartons. Thus, bags piled in lots are kept in a tidy way during stow operation.
During an automatic packing process, dust flaps and tuck flaps of a carton are unclosed, so that bags can be stowed upward through the opening of the carton, and after the carton has been filled up, the dust flaps are folded, then the tuck flaps are folded to enclose the carton. Conventionally, the flaps of the carton are folded by shifting the carton along transportation path forward and backward, or shifting the carton to and fro in the directions perpendicular to the transportation path (leftward and rightward). In other words, in order to enclose the flaps, the carton has to be shifted backward or to be shifted away from its transportation path. Thus, the transportation of the cartons will be hindered during folding of the flaps of the carton, and the efficiency of the automatic packing process is low.